Koji Murofushi, born on Oct. 8, 1974,collected a golden birthday cake in the Busan athletic field by claiming the hammer title in 78.72 meters Tuesday morning, the first gold medal for the Japanese Asiad athletic team.

Murofushi, the Japanese world-class hammer thrower who has madethe second best of the world this year for the Asian record in 83.33 meters, was the most eye-catching star in today's athletics.

Murofushi surpassed his own record of 78.57 meters in Asiad, which was set up in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad.

"I am very satisfied with today's result despite the cold weather," Murofushi told reporters. "I will try to maintain my form till next year, but I don't know to what extent I can train next year."

Murofushi, flag-bearer for the Japanese Asiad delegation in theopening ceremony, came from a well-known family after his father Jushin Murofushi had made a record of clinching the Asiad hammer title five times in a row from 1970 to 1986.

Jushin was the first Asian man to throw the hammer over the 70-meter line and his son Koji was the first Asian to conquer 80 meters.

The father-son heros won the glories in their homeland with Jushin in 1971 and Murofushi in 2000, which saw a 29-year gap.

"My father was so great that he even competed in the field whenhe was 41. I couldn't imagine that I could do better than him," Koji, who was called by media the second generation of the Murofushi family, had ever said. But in today's post-match press conference, Koji refused to make any comment on a comparison between his father and him.

After Jushin retired, he became the coach of his talented son who began to touch hammer at the age of 15. Jushin had told Koji that better results in hammer throwing could only be achieved through scientific and hard trainings in strength and technique.

"You have to adjust yourself in every attempt taking consideration of many factors in the field. Not a single throw could be the same as any other one. And it is hard to define whichway is the best," Koji said.

"The weather is a bit cold today. I needed more time to warm up," he added.

Koji, who can speak terribly good English, was mixed blooded. His mother was a Romanian javelin thrower. He had been training inEurope for quite a long time and often competed with world ace throwers.

"I failed to break my own record today. I hope I can do better in the future. And I am sure that in four to eight years, many other Asian athletes will throw hammers over 80 meters," Koji, 1.87-meter high, said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2002)